Prescription order packaging system and method

ABSTRACT

A system for automatically packaging prescription orders composed of one or more prescription containers. The system includes a printer for generating literature associated with each order and a packer for packing the prescription containers and the associated literature into a package. The packer has a scale or other means for determining the weight of the prescription containers. A packer controller calculates package weight information based on the container weight information. The package weight information is transmitted to a mail manifest system, which generates shipping information comprising postage. A labeler applies the shipping information to the package. The packer also includes a loading mechanism for inserting the prescription containers and the literature into the package.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention generally relates to automated systems for dispensing anddelivering prescriptions. More specifically, this invention is directedto an automatic prescription order packaging system. The system ispreferably used with an automatic prescription dispensing system toautomatically package prescription bottles filled by the dispensingsystem along with other items associated with the prescription order.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various systems have been developed to automatically fill largequantities of prescription bottles for use primarily in mail orderpharmacies. For example, Chariut U.S. Pat. No. 5,208,762 describes anautomated prescription bottle filling system The system described inCharhut automatically fills, labels, caps, and sorts prescriptionbottles in accordance with prescription orders. Such automaticprescription dispensing systems can significantly reduce the time andexpense required to fill a prescription, and can reduce human errorinherent in conventional manual prescription filling processes.

However, a significant limitation of such automatic prescriptiondispensing Systems is that a number of additional steps are typicallyrequired to prepare the filled prescription orders for shipping. In aconventional mail order pharmacy automatically filled prescriptionbottles are trasported to manual packaging and mailing stations. Atthese stations, workers assemble the bottles associated with eachprescription order and manually place the bottles into shippingpackages. A literature packet printed for the order is then manuallyplaced into the shipping package containing the bottles associated withthe order. The packages containing the prescription order and associatedliterature packet are then sent to a manual mailing station, where eachpackage is weighed so that postage can be determined. Postage is thenmanually applied to avoid damaging the contents of the filled packages.

A shortcoming of such conventional packaging and shipping processes isthat they require a number of manually performed operations. Thesemanual operations detract from the efficiency and accuracy achieved bythe automated prescription filling process. For a high-volume mail orderpharmacy, such manual steps increase labor costs and reduce the speed atwhich prescription orders are processed. Manual operations can alsoincrease the opportunity for human error, which can result in improperpackaging, labeling or shipping of the prescription order.

The automated packaging system described in Lasher et al. U.S. Pat. No.5,771,657 is an attempt to overcome some of the deficiencies of theconventional manual packaging process. However, that system fails tocompletely overcome the problems inherent in manual packagingoperations. For example, a significant shortcoming of the automatedpackaging system described in Lasher is that the packages do not leavethe system ready for mailing. The packages must be sent to a separatemailing station for weighing, determining postage and labeling. Thisadditional processing not only results in inefficiency, but alsointroduces opportunity for human error.

For the foregoing reasons, there is a strong need for an automaticprescription order packaging system that can quickly and accurately sortprescription bottles into orders, generate literature associated witheach order, apply a shipping label and postage to shipping packages, andload the bottles of each order and associated literature into labeledpackages ready for shipping. The present invention provides these andother advantageous results.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an integrated system and method forautomatically generating literature, packaging, and preparingprescription orders for mailing.

The automatic packaging machine is an integrated system that can printliterature related to the prescription order, join the associatedliterature and prescription containers (e.g., prescription bottles) tocomplete the order, place the completed order (prescriptions andliterature) into a mailing package, determine shipping costs for theorder, print shipping information on the order, manifest and transportthe order for shipping. The printer subsystem generates literatureassociated with each order. The packer system receives the prescriptioncontainers composing each order and the literature associated with eachorder and packages the prescription containers and the literature into apackage.

The packer includes a means for determining the weight of theprescription containers and transmitting container weight information. Apacker controller receives the prescription container weight informationand calculates package weight information based at least in part on thecontainer weight information. A mail manifest system receives thepackage weight information and generates shipping information thatincludes postage. A labeler receives the shipping information andapplies the shipping information to the package. A loading mechanisminserts the prescription containers and the literature into the package.

The system can also include a host computer having access to a databaseof information relating to each order. The host computer can communicatewith the packer controller and the printer subsystem. The packercontroller transmits data to the host computer to initiate printing ofliterature associated with each order.

The printer subsystem can preferably communicate with the host computerand packer controller. In one embodiment, the printer subsystem candetermine document weight information relating to the weight of theliterature associated with each order and transmits the document weightinformation to the packer controller. In another embodiment, the printersubsystem transmits to the packer controller the quantity and type ofdocuments that have been printed as well as the quantity and type ofinserts being added to the order (such as return envelopes and coupons).The packer controller determines the package weight information based atleast in part on the container weight information and the documentweight information. The printer subsystem can also print amachine-readable code on the literature containing informationidentifying the order associated with the literature. A code readerreads the code on the literature to verify that the literature is beingpackaged with the correct order.

Each prescription container preferably has a machine-readable codecomprising identifying information for identifying the order associatedwith the container. In one embodiment, the packer subsystem includes aninput conveyor, code reader, and container pick-and-place. The inputconveyor receives the prescription containers and the code reader readsthe code on the containers. Identifying information is transmitted tothe packer controller. The container pick-and-place mechanism removesthe prescription containers from the input conveyor and transports thecontainers to a scale. The packer controller controls the containerpick-and-place mechanism in accordance with the identifying information.

In one embodiment, the means for determining the weight of theprescription containers includes a scale for weighing the containers. Inanother embodiment, the weight of the prescription containers isdetermined using a software program that retrieves information regardingthe contents of the container from an order database and calculates thecontainer weight based on predetermined information regarding the weightof the container and the container contents.

The labeler can apply a machine-readable code to the package containingan identifier for identifying the order associated with the package. Acode reader reads the code on the package to allow verification that theprescription containers being packaged and the labeled packagecorrespond to the same order.

The system can also include a sorter for sorting prescription containersinto an order comprising one or more associated containers. The packersubsystem receives sorted containers from the sorter.

One version of the automatic packaging system includes a packersubsystem comprising a code reader for reading a machine-readable codeon the prescription containers received by the packer. The code includesinformation for identifying the order associated with the prescriptioncontainer. The automatic packaging system generates literatureassociated with each order from an internal, dedicated printersubsystem. Pick-and-Place mechanisms are used to marry the literaturewith the associated order before placing them in a shipping package. Thesystem can also include a packer controller in communication with thecode reader for receiving order identifying information from the codereader and transmitting the order identifying information and a printrequest. The system can also include a host computer in communicationwith the packer controller for receiving the order identifyinginformation and print request from the packer controller andtransmitting data associated with the order to the printer to initiateprinting.

The invention also includes a method for automatically packagingprescription orders. Literature associated with each order is printed.The prescription containers and literature are packaged. The packagingstep includes determining the weight of the prescription containers andliterature. The package weight is calculated based at least in part onthe weight of the prescription containers and the weight of theliterature. Shipping information including postage is then generated.The shipping information is applied to the package and the prescriptioncontainers and the literature are inserted into the package.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will become more fully apparent from the following detaileddescription, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system for automatically sorting andpackaging prescription bottles;

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an apparatus for sorting prescriptionbottles;

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a printer subsystem of the automaticpackaging system for generating literature associated with prescriptionorders;

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a packer subsystem of the automaticpackaging system for packing the prescription bottles and associatedliterature into labeled packages;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an automatic sorting process; and

FIG. 6A is a flow chart illustrating a bottle intake portion of anautomatic packaging process;

FIG. 6B is a flow chart illustrating a document printing portion of anautomatic packaging process;

FIG. 6C is a flow chart illustrating a package weight determinationportion of an automatic packaging process;

FIG. 6D is a flow chart illustrating a mail manifest portion of anautomatic packaging process; and

FIG. 6E is a flow chart illustrating a packaging portion of an automaticpackaging process.

For clarity, the drawing figures illustrate the general manner ofconstruction of a preferred embodiment of the system. Descriptions anddetails of well-known features are omitted to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring the invention. The drawings are provided for illustrativepurposes only and should not be used to unduly limit the scope of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The automatic packaging system is preferably used with a high-volumeprescription drug dispensing system to automatically package bottlesfilled by the dispensing system. The automatic packaging system canautomatically sort filled prescription bottles into customer orders andload the bottles and associated literature in labeled packages ready forshipping.

As shown in FIG. 1, a preferred embodiment of the system includes asorting system 101 for sorting filled prescription bottles into customerorders; an automatic packaging system 100 comprising a printer subsystem103 for generating a unique literature packet for each order; and apacker subsystem 105 for packing the prescription bottles and associatedliterature into labeled packages ready for shipping to the customer.

The prescription orders are received and store by a host computer 108,which preferably transmits data to an automatic prescription dispensingsystem 110, which fills the prescription bottles in accordance with eachprescription order. Various automatic dispensing systems are availablecommercially (for example, the OPTIFILL® system manufactured by AutoMedTechnologies, Inc.). The prescription bottles preferably include a labelhaving usual prescription information along with a machine-readablecode, such as a bar code, containing information concerning theprescription and/or the order. The code preferably includes aprescription number identifying the prescription. The code can alsoinclude other information relating to the prescription or order, forexample, an order number, the number of bottles associated with theprescription order, etc. The description of the embodiment describedherein, by way of illustrative example, is used to automatically packageprescription bottles. The system can be adapted for use in packagingvarious other types of prescription containers including, for example,boxes, vials, bags, cans, envelopes and the like.

Filled prescription bottles are delivered to a sorter 102 via a bottleconveyor 112. Under the control of a sorter controller 114 incommunication with the host computer 108, the sorter 102 sorts thebottles into customer orders. The sorted bottles are delivered to thepacker 106 via a bottle conveyor 116.

The printer 104 generates literature packets customized to each order tobe inserted into the shipping package for each order, on demand.Components of the printer subsystem 103 communicate with a printercontroller 118 that, in turn, communicates with the host computer 108.The literature packets are. transported by a literature packet transport120 to the packer 106.

The packer subsystem 105 verifies that all bottles of the order havebeen properly consolidated by the sorter, determines the weight of theorder, generates shipping labels that include postage, and packs thebottles and associated literature packet into a labeled shippingpackage. Labeled shipping packages ready for shipping are transportedout of the packer 106 by package conveyor 122. A packer controller 124controls the packer. The packer 106 is controlled by a packer controller124, which is in communication with the host computer 108.

Host Computer

The host computer system 108 has access to an order database containinginformation about each order. The information in the database caninclude information needed to fill the prescription, to print a bottlelabel, to print material to accompany the order, and to ship the order.The order database also preferably includes a record of the order numberassociated with each order, prescription number associated with eachprescription making up the order, and the number of bottles making upeach prescription. The host computer can communicate with variouscomponents of the system including the automatic prescription dispensingsystem 110, the sorter controller 114, the packer controller 124, themail manifest system 107, the printer controller 118, and the printer104.

Sorter

The sorter system 101 is an optional component, which sorts prescriptionbottles into orders. The sorter system 101 is not required if, forexample, the bottles are presorted by an automatic prescription fillingsystem or other means. The sorter system 101 can be used with anautomated prescription dispensing system that does not have a sortingfunction or when a separate or additional sorting is desired. Thecomponents of the sorter system 101 are controlled by a sortercontroller 114, which can be any control device, for example, aprogrammable logic controller (PLC), personal computer or othercomputing device.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the sorter 102 comprises aflat, belt-type conveyor 202, which transports bottles from the input ofthe sorter 201 to the output of the sorter 203. The conveyor 202 isdivided into three conveyor lanes: an input/output lane 204, a queuelane 208, and an overflow queue lane 206. Input/output lane 204sequentially receives the filled prescription bottles single file,preferably, from an automated prescription dispensing system 110 (seeFIG. 1). A bottle tip sensor 210 sends a signal to the sorter controller114 to stop the conveyor 202 if a bottle on the input/output lane 204 istipped. The tip sensor is comprised of two conventional through-beamsensors located in-line, one above the other. If a bottle is standing,both sensors detect the bottle at the same time. If a bottle has fallenover, only the lower sensor detects the bottle, triggering a tippedbottle signal.

Bottles are accumulated in an input holding area 204 a of input/outputlane 204 by a pneumatically operated input gate 212. When input gate 212is closed, the bottles are held in place in input holding area 204 a andthe belt of conveyor 202 passes underneath the stationary bottles. Astop gate 214 closes to prevent additional bottles from entering theholding area 204 a and keeps pressure off the bottles in input holdingarea 204 a.

In the illustrated embodiment, up to four bottles are accumulated in theinput holding area 204 a. The system is preferably configured to sortorders ranging from one to four bottles per order. Orders comprisingmore than four bottles are segregated for manual processing beforeentering the sorter. Sensor 216 sends a signal to the sorter controller114 (FIG. 1) when four bottles have been accumulated in the holding area204 a Alternatively, the system can be configured to handle variousnumbers of bottles per order.

A bottle pick-and-place (“PNP”) mechanism 218 transports bottles fromthe input/output conveyor lane 204 to queue lane 208. As used herein theterms “pick-and-place” and “PNP” are used to refer generally to anymechanism used to transport bottles, which encompasses any of a varietyof structures. Bottle PNP mechanism 218 has four pick heads 220, whichpreferably comprise vacuum-operated suction cups that adhere to the lidsof the prescription bottles. Upon receipt of the signal from sensor 216,or a timer inside the sorter controller 114 (FIG. 1), the controller 114signals the bottle PNP 218 to pick up bottles accumulated in the inputholding area 204 a. There may be one to four bottles available inholding area 204 a for sorting. Once the bottles have been picked, thestop gate 214 opens, allowing the next one to four bottles to enter theinput holding area 204 a.

The bottle PNP 218 lifts the bottles and rotates them about theirvertical axis to allow bar codes on the bottle labels to be read by fourbar code readers 222. The bar code on each bottle provides aprescription number associated with the bottle. The number of bottlesassociated with each order can be determined by correlating theprescription number obtained from the bar code with an order number andassociated data relating to the order stored in the order databaseaccessible to the host computer system 108 (FIG. 1). The prescriptionnumber is relayed from the sorter controller 114 to the host computer108, and the host computer 108 sends a reply back to the sortercontroller 114 with the order number and order data that will determinethe next action performed. Alternatively, the bar code on the bottle caninclude a field identifying the number of bottles in the order and othernecessary information, obviating the need to communicate with a hostsystem.

After scanning the bar codes, the bottles are placed in a queue holdingarea 208 a of queue lane 208. Bar code information is transmitted to thesorter controller 114 (FIG. 1), which records the position of eachbottle in the queue in memory. In the illustrated embodiment, bottle PNP218 moves laterally across input/output lane 204 and places the fourbottles in queue holding area 208 a. Pneumatically operated queue gate224 ensures proper flow and sequencing of the bottles entering thequeue. The queue gate 224 retracts and the conveyor 202 moves thebottles from the holding area 208 a into a queue portion 208 b of queuelane 208. After all the bottles have moved from holding area 208 a intothe queue portion 208 b, the gate 224 is extended closing off the exitto holding area 208 a.

Once all bottles composing an order are in the queue, a queue PNP 226,under the control of the sorter controller 114 (FIG. 1), picks up thebottles associated with each order and places the bottles side-by-sideon an output portion 204 b of input/output conveyor lane 204 in groupscorresponding to each order. In the illustrated embodiment, output lane204 b is downstream of and formed by the same conveyor belt 202 as inputholding area 204 a, with gate 212 separating the input from the outputof inputloutput conveyor lane 204. Alternatively, the various lanes ofthe sorter can be formed using separate conveyors. The input(outputconveyor lane 204 runs parallel to the queue conveyor lane 208. Thequeue PNP 226 has a plurality of vacuum-operated pick heads 228 thatadhere to the bottle lids, to allow the queue PNP 226 to pick up one ormore complete orders at a time from the queue portion 208 b of queueconveyor lane 208 and place them in the output portion 204 b ofinput/output conveyor lane 204. A sensor 230 located at the output 203of the sorter detects when the output of the sorter is blocked and sendsa signal to the sorter controller, which causes the sorter to pausetemporarily.

Bottles that are not associated with complete orders or that arerejected by the host computer 108 (FIG. 1) are moved by the queue PNP226 from the queue portion 208 b of queue conveyor lane 208. When thesorter senses that the number of bottles in the queue conveyor lane 208has reached a predetermined limit, the queue PNP 226 temporarily picksup all bottles associated with completed orders, leaving rejectedbottles or bottles not associated with complete orders in the queueportion 208 b of the queue conveyor lane 208. A pneumatically operatedreject gate 232 at the end of the queue conveyor lane 208 retracts,opening the end of the lane 208. The queue conveyor lane 208 isactivated causing all remaining bottles in the lane 208 to be dischargedfrom the sorter off the end of lane 208. Once all bottles in the queueconveyor lane 208 have been rejected, the reject gate 232 extends,closing off the end of the conveyor lane 208. The queue PNP 226 placesthe bottles associated with completed orders that it had beentemporarily holding back onto the queue portion 208 b of queue conveyorlane 208.

In the case where power is interrupted via normal sorter shutdown,opening of an interlock, or during an emergency shutdown, the sortercontroller 114 (FIG. 1) may loose data containing information about thebottles in the sorter 102. After power has been restored to the systemand the sorter is placed into automatic sequencing, an initializationroutine is activates checking for bottles within the system. Queue gate224 is retracted and the conveyor 202 activated. This causes all bottlesto move toward the output 232 of the sorter. All bottles in the outputportion 204 b of input/output conveyor lane 204 exit the sorter. Afterthe output portion 204 b is empty, the conveyor 202 stops and the queuegate 224 is extended, blocking the exit of the queue conveyor lane 208.The queue PNP 226 extends over the queue portion 208 b of queue conveyorlane 208, picking up all bottles in the queue portion 208 b of thatlane. The queue PNP 226 then move latterly to the output portion 204 bof inputloutput conveyor lane 204 where the bottles are released. Thestop gate 212 is retracted and the conveyor 202 is actuated in a reversedirection moving bottles into the input holding area 204 a ofinput/output lane 204. Stop gate 212 then extends and the bottle PNP 218picks the bottles from the input holding area 204 a, transporting themlaterally to the bar code scanners 222. After the bar code data has beenread from each bottle, the bottles are placed into the holding area 208a of queue conveyor lane 208. The bottle PNP 218 retracts over to theinput holding area 204 a, while both the stop gate 212 and queue gate224 are retracted. The conveyor is activated moving the bottle(s) fromthe queue holding area 208 a to the queue portion 208 b of queue lane208. The conveyor stops and the queue gate 224 is extended, closing offthe holding area 208 a. The conveyor is activated in a reverse directionmoving more bottles in the output portion 204 b of input/output lane 204into the input holding area 204 a. This process continues until theoutput portion 204 b is emptied of bottles. Next, the queue PNP 226extends latterly to the overflow lane 206. All bottles in the overflowlane 206 are picked and placed into the output portion 204 b ofinput/output lane 204. The above process is repeated. Once all of thebar codes on the bottles have been scanned, the sorter controller 114(FIG. 1) has record of all bottle locations. Completed orders are movedto the output portion 204 b of input/output lane 204 and exit thesorter. The sorter then resumes normal operation. If the sorter found nobottles during the initialization sequence, automatic operation isresumed.

From the sorter 102, a bottle conveyor 116 moves the sorted bottlessingle file to the packer 106 as shown in FIG. 1.

Printer Subsystem

The printer subsystem 103 generates literature packets associated witheach order to be inserted into the shipping package for each order.These literature packets are created as required for packaging. Variouscomponents of the printer subsystem are printer subsystem controller118, which can be a circuit board control system, personal computer orother control device.

The printer subsystem 103 includes a printer 104 for printing literatureassociated with the order. The literature associated with each order ispreferably printed once the packer 106 receives a bottle associated withthe order. As discussed below, the packer can include a bar code readerfor reading a bar code on the bottles as the packer receives them. Thecode includes information for identifying the order associated with thebottle. The printer 104 generates literature associated with each orderand delivers the literature to the packer 106 once the packer hasreceived a bottle associated with the order. The printer 104 ispreferably dedicated to a single packer and is located adjacent to thepacker subsystem 105 and integrated into the automatic packaging system100. Multiple dedicated printers can be integrated into the automaticpackaging system 100 for increased printing speed. An advantage of adedicated printer adjacent to or integrated with the packer subsystem isthat it allows documents to be quickly printed without the need toconvey the documents from a separate printer area or to sort documentsgenerated by one or more printers associated with multiple packers. Byeliminating the need to convey and sort literature packets, thededicated printer can generate literature packets more quickly thanconventional printing systems.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the printer subsystem 103includes a high-speed, computer-controlled printer 104 that printsliterature that are uniquely tailored to each specific order. Theprinter 104 can communicate with a printer controller 118, which is incommunication with a host computer 108 (see FIG. 1) having access to adatabase of information relating to each order. The printer 104 can alsocommunicate directly with the host computer 108. A print tray transport304 transports the individual pages of the literature packet from theprinter to an accumulator 306. The printer includes a bar code scanner308 that reads bar codes on the documents and provides initialliterature packet feedback to the packer controller 124 (see FIG. 1).The bar code is also used to signal the printer subsystem when the lastpage of the literature packet has been reached.

The accumulator 306 collects documents related to a single order in aqueue. The accumulator 306 contains a page counting sensor and documentpresent sensor. When the literature packet is complete, the accumulator306 sends the literature packet to the print set queue 310.

The print set queue 310 includes a bar code scanner 309, which scans abar code printed on the literature packet and verifies order informationagainst the printed literature packet. Upon bar code scan, dataverifying that the correct number of pages was printed for theliterature packet is transmitted to the packer controller 124 (FIG. 1)for use in determining the total weight of the package for manifestgeneration, which is described below in connection with the descriptionof the packer.

A print purge tray 312 is used to reject any literature packets that areidentified as incomplete or out of sequence. Rejected documents arediverted from the printer subsystem transport and deposited in the printpurge tray 312.

A belt-drive transport 314 moves the printed portion of the literaturepacket to a folder 316. Remittance envelope feeder 318 inserts aremittance envelope into the literature packet. The folder 316 folds thepages of the literature packet for insertion into the collator 320. Thefolded pages of the literature packet and remittance envelope are passedto the collator 320. Collator 320 takes all of the components of theliterature packet and organizes them for insertion. The collator 320feeds the literature packet to an inserter 322. The inserter 322receives the collated literature packet and can insert the completeliterature packet into the selected envelope or add the selectedenvelope to the literature packet. The package envelope can be use bythe customer to renew prescriptions or to order prescription refills.Depending upon the type of order, the system selects either a prepaidpackage envelope from the pre-paid envelope feeder 324 or a non-prepaidpackage envelope from the non-prepaid envelope feeder 326. The systemselects which envelope type to use as determined by the specific orderinformation indicated by the bar code. The selected envelope is fed intothe inserter 322 and positioned for document insertion if required. Thebar code on the documents can preferably be read through window of thepackage envelope or from the top from in the literature packet.

An interposer 328 receives the complete literature packet in the orderspecific envelope. The literature packet transport 120, can comprise aswing arm transport mechanism for delivering the complete literaturepacket to the packer 106. The order specific literature packet isdelivered to the literature packet pick point 435 and positioned for thepacker's load PNP 434 (FIG. 4). A bar code scanner 437 at the pick point435 verifies that the correct literature packet is provided for theorder being loaded. As described in the below description of the packer,the bar code scan supports the system's three-point validation process,which verifies that the bar code information on the literature packet,bottles, and shipping package all correspond to the same order.

Packer Subsystem

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 4, the packer subsystem 105 verifies thatall bottles of the order have been properly consolidated by the sorter,determines the weight of the bottles composing the order, generatesshipping labels that include a mail manifest, and packs the bottles andassociated literature packet into a labeled shipping package. A packercontroller 124, which can be a PLC, personal computer or other computingdevice, controls the components of the packer 106.

The packer 106 receives the prescription bottles sequentially from thesorter 102 via a bottle feed conveyor 116. The packer 106 includes abottle tip sensor 402 at the input. When activated, the tip sensor 402sends a signal to the packer controller 124, which stops the bottle feedconveyor 116 to allow an operator to upright the bottle. A full queuesensor 404 monitors the number of bottles waiting for processing on theinput conveyor 406. Should the input conveyor 406 become full, the fillqueue sensor 404 sends a signal to the packer controller 124, which inturn stops the bottle feed conveyor 116 to the packer until the fullqueue sensor 404 signals the packer controller 124 that the inputconveyor 406 is no longer full.

The input conveyor 406 transports the bottles to a load station 408where bottles are preferably accumulated in groups of four. A bottle PNP410 at the load station 408 includes four vacuum-operated pick heads 412that pick up the bottles by the lids. The bottle PNP 410 lifts up fourbottles and positions the first two bottles in front of bar codescanners 414. The bottle PNP 410 rotates the bottles about theirvertical axes to allow the bar code information to be captured by thetwo bar code scanners 414. Bar code data received from the scan stationis transmitted to the packer controller 124. Information obtained at thescan station is used to verify order content. In a preferred embodiment,the packer controller 124 is in communication with a host computer 108.The host computer 108 uses the prescription information from the barcode scan to retrieve order information from a database accessible tothe host computer 108 for verification. If a bar code cannot be read theentire order is removed from the packer 106 and passed to an exceptionsconveyor 416, which discharges the bottles from the packer 106. If theorder is incomplete, cancelled by the host system, or does not match thehost system information, the order is rejected by the packer 106 andpassed through to the exceptions conveyor 416.

Upon verification that the order is complete, the packer controller 124issues a print command to the host computer 108. The host computer 108generates a signal to the printer controller 118 to queue paperworkgeneration for a valid order. Order information is transmitted from thehost computer 108 to the printer controller 118.

After bar code scan, the bottle PNP 410 places the bottles of each orderonto a weigh scale 418. Once placed on the scale 418, the bottles areweighed. The total weight of bottles for each order is calculated andtranitted to the packer controller 124. Once the bottles have beenweighed, they are moved from the scale 418 to a transport conveyor 420.The packer controller 124 calculates the total order weight (bottles,literature packet, shipping package). Alternatively, the packercontroller can calculate the weight of the order based upon apredetermined weight of the contents without using a scale. For example,the order database accessible to the host computer can includeinformation regarding the contents of each bottle (e.g., the type andquantity of medication contained in each bottle). A drug database caninclude the predetermined weight of various prescription medications. Byaccessing the drug database, the host computer or packer controller cancalculate the weight of each bottle's contents based upon the units ofmedication (e.g., number of pills) dispensed and the weight per unit.The weight of the document packet can then be calculated withoutactually weighing the package by adding the weight of the calculatedweight of the medication, bottles, literature, package, and othercontents.

The packer controller 124 transmits postage information to a mailmanifest system 107. As used herein, the term “mail manifest system”refers broadly to any system that is capable of generating shippinginformation including postage information, such as, for example, aPITNEY BOWES®ASCENT™ mail center management system, which can calculatepostage and determine the means of delivery. As used herein, the term“postage” refers broadly to any indication of a charge and/or paymentfor shipping or mailing by the U.S. postal service or private parcel ordelivery service such as, for example, FEDERAL EXPRESS® or UPS®. Thepacker controller 124 stores a tracking record of the postal informationafter recording the total weight of the order. The mail manifest system107 transmits label information to the print-and-apply labeler 422.

The labeler 422 can print shipping labels including a bar code(including order information), postage or shipping code, shippingaddress and return address. The package may be any type of bag, pouch,envelope, box or package. In the illustrated embodiment, the package isa bag. The bag PNP assembly 424 uses a vacuum-operated mechanism topickup a shipping bag ftom one of two bag trays 426 before placing itinto a label print and apply area 428. A printed label is attached to ashipping bag positioned at a labeling station. While at the labelingstation, the order number bar code is scanned to verify correctness ofthe order sequence. The shipping bag is then moved to the order loadingstation for receiving the order. As used herein the term “label” refersbroadly to any shipping indicia For example, the labeler can beconfigured to both print a separate adhesive label and apply it to theshipping package, or to print a shipping label (i.e., shippinginformation) directly on each package. Preformed shipping bags orextruded rolls of material cut to the proper length are positioned forproduct insertion utilizing a vacuum transfer system. The transfersystem moves the bags from the label print and apply area 428, throughthe bag open area 430 and heat seal area 432. A bag open assembly at thebag open area 430 receives the labeled shipping bag from the transportsystem and positions it for order loading. The mechanism uses vacuumcups located above and below the bag to position and open the bag.

A loading mechanism such as, for example, the load PNP assembly 434inserts the compete order into the open shipping bag. As describedabove, the printer subsystem 103 generates an order-unique literature,which may be inserted into a windowed envelope. Folded literaturepackets are sent to the load PNP 434 assembly. The literature packet ispositioned in a consistent, repeatable fashion with the bar code labelpositioned at the literature packet pick point 435 to allow scanningprior to document pick. Before loading of the bags, the bar codes on theprescription bottles, the literature packet and the shipping bags areread to verify the order numbers are a three-way match. A “reject orcontinue” decision is made at this point. The packer preferably includesa three-axis, servo-diven load PNP 434 as the mechanism for bottle andliterature packet loading into a shipping bag. The load PNP 434 picks upthe literature packet from the literature packet pick point 435. Barcode reader 437 scans the literature packet. The order number is readfrom the literature packet and sent to packer controller 124. A bottlebar code scanner 439 located at the bottle pick station scans theleading bottle of the order to be picked and sends the information tothe packer controller 124 to verify the correct order is being selected.If the correct order is in place then the process continues. If thewrong order is in the queue, the packer stops, indicating a criticalerror. If the order is correct, the load PNP 434 then pivots and picksup the bottle(s) composing the order by using one of fourvacuum-operated pick heads. While in the labeling station and after thelabel has been applied to the shipping bag, the bar code on the shippinglabel is scanned by a bar code scanner 433 to verify correctness of theorder sequence. A bag opener at the bag open area 430 positions andopens the bag. If there is a three-way order number match on theliterature packet, bottles, and shipping bag, the loading arm of theload PNP 434 places the literature packet and prescription bottle(s)into the opened bag together at the same time. The shipping bag andorder contents are moved to a heat seal station 432. A heat-sealassembly uses a single impulse type heat element on top and an unheatedcompression bar on the bottom. The open end of the shipping bag is heldin position while the heat-seal assembly closes the bag and seals it Thesealed bag is placed on a package conveyor 438, which trsports theshipping packages from the packer 106.

System Process

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a sorting process inaccordance with the present invention. The process is initiated at step500 where the prescription bottles are inducted into the sorting system.At step 502, bar code information (including prescription number) isread off of each bottle as it enters the system. At step 504, the sortercontroller transmits the prescription number to the host computer andrequests order information. The host computer replies at step 506,sending order information. The order information includes an ordernumber, prescription numbers associated with the order number, number ofbottles associated with each prescription number, and an order statusindicator. At step 508, the controller checks the status of the orderbased upon the order indicator received and determines whether the orderstatus indicates that the bottle is to be rejected. If it does, thesorter rejects the bottle at step 510 and the process returns to step502 to read the bar code for the next bottle. If the bottle is not areject, the process proceeds to step 512 where the sorter controlleradds the order information (order number, prescription number, andnumber of bottles per prescription) to a sorter database. At step 514,the sorter controller searches the sorter database to determine if thebottle completes an order by determining if the other bottles havealready been received an entered into the database. If the order is notcomplete, the system proceeds to step 516 where the sorter controllerinstructs the sorter to place the bottle in a queue. If the queuebecomes full and the sorter does not receive a complete order within apredetermined period of time, the bottles of the rejected and partialorders are discharged from the sorter. At step 518, the sortercontroller determines when the queue is full and whether a predeterminedperiod of time has expired. If both conditions exist, the systemproceeds to step 520, where the sorter controller instructs the sorterto release the bottles of the rejected and partial orders from the queuewhere they are discharged from the sorter. If the bottle does completean order, the sorter controller prompts the system to release allbottles of the complete order for packing at step 522.

FIGS. 6A-6E are a series of flow charts illustrating an embodiment of anautomatic packaging process according to the present invention.

FIG. 6A illustrates an induction process for sorted bottles entering theautomatic packaging system. The process commences at step 600 where thepacker subsystem receives the sorted prescription bottles. The bottleshave a bar code printed on the label identifying a unique prescriptionnumber. At step 602, a bar code reader reads the bar code on eachbottle. At step 604, the bar code reader reads the coded prescriptionnumber and sends information to the packer controller. The packercontroller is in communication with a host computer. The packercontroller transmits the prescription number to the host computer andrequests order information and status. At step 606, the host computeruses the prescription number to access an order database and retrievesthe order number, all prescription numbers associated with the order,and the number of bottles per each prescription number and transmitsthis information to the packer controller along with a status of theorder (approved or rejected). At step 608, the packer controller checksthe status of the order based upon the information received from thehost computer to determine whether the order is approved or rejected. Ifthe order is rejected, the packer rejects the bottle from the system atstep 610 and the process returns to step 602 and the next bottle isprocessed. If the order is approved, the process proceeds to step 612and the packer controller accesses a packer database to determine if theorder number is already in the database. If the order is not in thedatabase, the packer controller adds the order information to thedatabase (order number, prescription numbers, and number of bottlesassociated with each prescription number) at step 614. Once the orderhas been added or if the order was determined to be in the database, theprocess proceeds to step 616 where the packer controller checks theinformation in the packer database to determine if the bottle completesan order. If the order is not complete, the process returns to step 602and the induction process is repeated for the next bottle. At step 618,the system determines whether the bottle is part of a different orderthan the previous bottle received by the packer. If the bottle is partof a new order, the bottles of the previous incomplete order arerejected at step 620 and discharged from the packer. If the bottle isnot part of a new order, the process proceeds to step 602 and the barcode on the next bottle entering the packer is scanned. If the order iscomplete, the packer controller initiates a document print request asillustrated in FIG. 6B.

FIG. 6B illustrates a document printing process. Once the packercontroller determines that a complete order has been received by thepacker, the packer controller initiates the printing process at step 622by sending the order number to the host computer and requesting a anorder-specific literature packet. The host computer responds at step 624and sends the order literature packet data to the printer subsystem. Atstep 626, literature packets are printed, marking each page with a barcode, indicating the order number, type of remittance envelope, and thenumber of pages in the packet. At step 628, the literature for thepacket are accumulated as a bar code reader scans the bar codeinformation on each page and traits the bar code information to theprinter controller. The printer controller records the bar codeinformation (including order number, type of remittance envelope, andthe number of pages in the packet) in memory. At step 630, the printercontroller determines whether a scanned page is the last page of theliterature packet. This determination can be made by placing an“end-of-set” code on the last page of each literature pack thatindicates the end of a literature pack and an “start set” code on thefirst page of each literature pack. In this manner, a complete packet isindicated when the bar code scanner reads a “start set” code and acorresponding “end set” code. If the document is not part of a newpacket, the process returns to step 626 where other documents of theliterature packet are printed. Once the literature packet is complete,the process proceeds to step 632 where the printer controller determinesif all pages of the packet printed. This step can be accomplished bydetermining if a “start set” code was followed by a corresponding “endset” code. Alternatively, or as a backup, each bar code can includeinformation indicating a page sequence and the total number of pagesassociated with the packet. If all pages did not print, the literaturepacket is rejected and discharged from the printer at step 634, and theprocess returns to step 626 where the documents are reprinted. If theliterature packet is complete and all pages of the packet printed, theprocess proceeds to step 636 where the printer controller sends theorder number and document weight information to the packer controller.The literature weight information is data for determining the weight ofthe literature packet. The literature weight information can be theactual weight of the literature packet or parts thereof, or can beinformation for calculating the weight, such as, the number of pages andnumber of envelopes used in the order. The process then proceeds to step638 where the literature packet is folded and a remittance envelope maybe added to the packet. A return envelope is selected and the foldeddocument packet is inserted into the selected return envelope with a barcode indicating the order number showing through the window of theenvelope. The completed literature packet is then passed to the packer106 at step 640.

FIG. 6C is a flow chart illustrating a package weight determinationprocess. The process commences at step 642 where the packer places allbottles of the complete order on a scale. As discussed above, the weightof the bottles can also be calculated without a scale by retrievinginformation regarding the contents of each bottle from an order databaseand retrieving information regarding the weight of various prescriptiondrugs from a drug database. Once the weight of the bottles of the orderis determined, the packer controller at step 644 records the weight ofthe bottles composing each order. At step 646, the packer controllerreceives the literature weight information from the printer controllerand calculates the weight of the literature packet. The total weight ofthe order-specific literature packet is calculated based upon the numberand types of documents, envelopes and other materials associated withthe specific order, which may vary from order to order. The packercontroller then adds the bottle weight to the calculated literaturepacket weight and weight of the bag or other packaging material todetermine the total package weight. At step 648, the packer controllersends the order number and package weight to the mail manifest system.

FIG. 6D illustrates the functions performed by the mail manifest system.At step 650, the mail manifest system receives the order number andpackage weight from the packer controller. The mail manifest systemsends the order number to the host computer at step 652. At illustratedat 654, the host computer returns order status and shipping information(including name, address and any special shipping instructions) to themail manifest system. From the information received from the hostcomputer, the mail manifest system determines the appropriate carrierand postage, at step 656. The process proceeds to step 658 where themail manifest system sends the shipping label information to theprint-and-apply label printer. At step 659, the label printer prints theshipping information, including postage, carrier bar codes if required,and a bar code containing the order number, onto a shipping label andapplies it to a shipping bag. As noted above, the label can be aseparate label that is adhered to the bag or, alternatively, it can beprinted directly on the bag, depending upon the type of labeler andshipping container selected.

FIG. 6E is a flow chart illustrating the final verification andpackaging process. At step 660, the bottles composing the order aretransferred from the scale to the loading mechanism where a final barcode scan is made and the packer controller records the order number. Atstep 662, the literature packet is received from the printer subsystemwhere the bar code on the literature packet is scanned and the packercontroller records the order number. At step 664, the bar code on theshipping label is scanned and the packer controller records the ordernumber. At step 666, the packer controller compares the order numberfrom the bottles with the order number from the literature packet andshipping label to ensure that there is a three-way match. If the ordernumbers do not match, the literature packet, bottles and bag arerejected at step 668 and discharged from the packer. At step 670, thepacker controller sends the order number to the mail manifest systemindicating that the order was not shipped. If at step 666 it isdetermined that the order numbers match, the process proceeds to step672 and the bottle and literature packet are placed into the shippingbag and the bag is sealed. At step 674, the packer controller sends theorder number to the host computer indicating that the order has beenshipped.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, a significantadvantage of the automatic packaging system over prior systems is thatthe package exists the system ready for shipping. Unlike conventionalsystems, the package does not need to be sent to a mailing station forfurther processing. The innovative system of the present inventioneliminates the need for further manual packaging, weighing, labeling orsorting of the package for shipping. A final three-point validation stepverifies matching bar codes on the sipping container, order contents,and documentation packaged. Thus, the system provides the significantadvantage of reducing the cost of packaging by eliminating additionalsteps and labor associated therewith. The system also eliminates therisk of human error in mislabeling the package and the possibility ofsending the wrong literature, medicine, or package to a customer.

Although the invention has been described with reference to a specificembodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scopeof the invention. For instance, the numerous details set forth hereinrelating to the configuration and operation of the presently preferredembodiment of the conveyor systems, PNP mechanisms, and control systemcomponents are provided to facilitate an understanding of the inventionand are not provided to limit the scope of the invention. Accordingly,the disclosure of a preferred embodiment of the invention is intended tobe illustrative of the scope of the invention and is not intended to belimiting. It is intended that the scope of the invention shall belimited only to the extent required by the appended claims.

1. A system for automatically packaging prescription orders, each order comprising one or more prescription containers, the system comprising: (a) a printer subsystem for generating literature associated with each order; and (b) a packer subsystem for receiving prescription containers composing each order and the literature associated with each order and packing the prescription containers and the literature into a package, the packer subsystem comprising: (i) a means for determining the weight of the prescription containers and transmitting container weight information; (ii) a packer controller in communication with the means for determining the weight of the prescription containers, the packer controller receiving the container weight information and calculating package weight information based at least in part on the container weight information; (iii) a mail manifest system in communication with the packer controller, the mail manifest system receiving the package weight information and generating shipping information comprising postage; (iv) a labeler in communication with the mail manifest system, the labeler receiving the shipping information and applying the shipping information to the package; and (v) a loading mechanism for inserting the prescription containers and the literature into the package.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the printer subsystem is in communication with the packer controller, and wherein the printer subsystem determines document weight information relating to the weight of the literature associated with each order and transmits the document weight information to the packer controller, and wherein the package weight information is based at least in part on the document weight information.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the means for determining the weight of the prescription containers comprises a scale for weighing the prescription containers.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the system further comprises an order database comprising information regarding the contents of each prescription container and wherein the means for determining the weight of the prescription containers comprises a software program for retrieving the information regarding the contents of the containers and calculating the prescription container weight based on predetermined information regarding the weight of the container and the container contents.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein each prescription container has a machine-readable code comprising information for identifying the order associated with the prescription container, and wherein the packer subsystem further comprises: (a) an input conveyor for receiving the prescription containers; (b) a code reader for reading the code on the prescription containers and transmitting the identifying information to the packer controller; and (c) a container pick-and-place mechanism for removing the prescription containers from the input conveyor and transporting the prescription containers to the scale, wherein the packer controller controls the container pick-and-place mechanism in accordance with the identifying information.
 6. The system of claim 5, further comprising a container tip sensor for stopping the input conveyor of the packer subsystem if a tipped prescription container is detected.
 7. The system of claim 5, further comprising a queue full sensor for stopping the input conveyor to the packer subsystem if a full queue is detected.
 8. The system of claim 5, wherein the container pick-and-place mechanism comprises one or more vacuum operated pick heads for picking up one or more prescription containers.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the container pick-and-place mechanism rotates the prescription containers to allow the code reader to read the code on each prescription container.
 10. The system of claim 5, further comprising a host computer in communication with the packer controller and the printer subsystem, and wherein the packer controller communicates data to the host computer to initiate printing of literature associated with each order.
 11. The system of claim 5, wherein the labeler applies a machine-readable code to the package containing an identifier for identifying the order associated with the package.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the packer subsystem further comprises a code reader for reading the code on the package to allow verification that the prescription containers being packaged and the labeled package correspond to the same order.
 13. The system of claim 5, wherein the package is a bag and wherein the packer subsystem further comprises a bag pick-and-place mechanism for transporting the bag for labeling and loading.
 14. The system of claim 1, wherein the loading mechanism comprises a document picking member for picking up literature corresponding to the order and a container pick-and-place having one or more vacuum operated pick heads for picking up one or more prescription containers.
 15. The system of claim 1, wherein the printer subsystem is in communication with a host computer having access to a database of information relating to each order.
 16. The system of claim 1, wherein the printer subsystem prints a machine-readable code on the literature containing information identifying the order associated with the literature.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the printer subsystem includes a code reader for reading the code on the literature to allow verification that the literature is being packaged with the correct order.
 18. The system of claim 1, wherein the packer subsystem comprises a printer controller that transmits data relating to the weight of the literature to the packer controller.
 19. The system of claim 1, further comprising a sorter for sorting prescription containers into an order comprising one or more associated prescription containers, wherein the packer subsystem receives sorted prescription containers from the sorter.
 20. A system for automatically packaging prescription orders and literature associated with each order, each order comprising one or more prescription containers, each prescription container having a machine-readable code comprising information for identifying the order associated with the prescription container, the system comprising: (a) a packer for receiving prescription containers composing each order and the literature associated with each order and packing the prescription containers and the literature into a package, the packer comprising a code reader for reading the code on the prescription containers received by the packer; and (b) a printer dedicated to the packer for generating literature associated with each order and delivering the literature to the packer once a prescription container associated with the order has been received by the packer.
 21. The system of claim 20, wherein the printer is adjacent to or integrated with the packer.
 22. The system of claim 20, further comprising a literature packet transport mechanism comprising a swing arm for transporting the literature from the printer to the packer.
 23. The system of claim 20, further comprising a packer controller in communication with the code reader for receiving order identifying information from the code reader and transmitting the order identifying information and a print request.
 24. The system of claim 23, further comprising a host computer in communication with the packer controller for receiving the order identifying information and print request from the packer controller and transmitting data associated with the order to the printer to initiate printing.
 25. A system for automatically packaging prescription orders, each order comprising one or more prescription bottles, wherein each bottle has a machine-readable code thereon containing coded information comprising a prescription identifier associated with one of the orders, the system comprising: (a) a host computer having access to a database comprising a plurality of order identifiers, each order identifier being associated with order information for one of the orders, the order information comprising an identification of the shipping name and address and one or more associated prescription identifiers identifying one or more prescriptions; (b) a sorter for sorting prescription bottles into orders; (c) a printer subsystem for generating literature associated with each order, the printer subsystem comprising a print controller in communication with the host computer, wherein the printer controller generates weight information relating to the weight of literature associated with each order; and (d) a packer subsystem for receiving bottles composing each order and the literature associated with each order and packing the bottles and the literature into a package, the packer subsystem comprising: (i) a code reader for reading the machine-readable code on each bottle; (ii) a scale for weighing the bottles and transmitting bottle weight information; (iii) a packer controller in communication with the code reader, scale host computer, and print controller, wherein the packer controller: a. receives the coded information from the code reader and transmits the prescription identifier to the host computer; and b. receives the bottle weight information from the scale and document weight information from the printer controller and calculates package weight information based at least in part on the bottle weight information and document weight information; (iv) a mail manifest system in communication with the packer controller and the host computer, the mail manifest system receiving the package weight information and at least a portion of the order information and generating shipping information comprising postage; (v) a labeler in communication with the mail manifest system, the labeler receiving the shipping information and applying the shipping information to the package; and (vi) a loading mechanism for inserting the bottles and the literature into the package; and wherein the host computer prompts the printer subsystem to print literature associated with an order once one or more of the bottles associated with the order have been received by the packer.
 26. A method for automatically packaging prescription orders, each order comprising one or more prescription containers, the method comprising: (a) printing literature associated with each order; (b) packing the prescription containers and the literature associated with each order into a package, the step of packing the prescription containers and literature comprising: (i) determining the weight of the prescription containers and literature; (ii) calculating package weight based at least in part on the weight of the prescription containers and the weight of the literature; (iii) generating shipping information comprising postage; (iv) applying the shipping information to the package; and (v) inserting the prescription containers and the literature into the package.
 27. The method of claim 26, further comprising the step of sorting prescription containers into orders. 